2026 Sonsio Grand Prix

Lundgaard Finally Gets IMS Road Course Win, Leaving Malukas and Rahal to Complete the Podium

Christian Lundgaard settled his unfinished business at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in emphatic fashion Saturday, driving the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet to victory in the Sonsio Grand Prix with a decisive pass on David Malukas in Turn 4 with 17 laps to go and pulling away cleanly to win by 4.6 seconds. It is Lundgaard's first win of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season, his second career IndyCar win and the first for Arrow McLaren's No. 7 car. Malukas, who led a race-high 27 laps in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, held on for second. Graham Rahal earned his 35th career podium and second of the season in the No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, finishing third. The win is Arrow McLaren's 28th in IndyCar competition.

Alex Palou, who had won three consecutive Sonsio Grands Prix and was chasing an historic fourth straight, started from pole and led 23 laps but was caught on the wrong end of a pivotal second caution and finished fifth. The championship leader still extends his points advantage — to 27 over Kyle Kirkwood after Kirkwood's difficult afternoon — but the trophy went elsewhere for the first time since 2022.

The race ran 1:55:40.2894 with an average speed of 107.536 mph, contested in warm and sunny conditions with an ambient temperature of 76 degrees and a track surface of 105 degrees. There were three cautions for 12 laps and six lead changes among four drivers.

Turn 1 Rewrites the Script

The afternoon's decisive moment arrived before the field had completed its first lap. Off the start, contact in Turn 1 triggered a multi-car incident involving Felix Rosenqvist, Pato O'Ward, Scott Dixon, Caio Collet and Louis Foster. The full course yellow flew immediately. Rosenqvist's No. 60 SiriusXM Meyer Shank Racing Honda was issued a back-of-field restart penalty for receiving emergency service in a closed pit, and he later received a drive-through penalty for avoidable contact. Rinus VeeKay also received a back-of-field penalty and a subsequent drive-through for failure to follow direction.

O'Ward, who had qualified second and been a genuine threat for victory, was left mired in traffic for the remainder of the afternoon, eventually finishing 18th in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Rosenqvist was classified 23rd after contact ended his race on Lap 28.

Palou led the field to the green on Lap 5, with Kirkwood slotting into second. The first stint settled quickly, Palou stretching his advantage to 3.4 seconds by Lap 18 as the first pit cycle unfolded around him. Scott McLaughlin received a three-position yield penalty for blocking; Marcus Armstrong was issued a back-of-field penalty and later a drive-through for avoidable contact and receiving service in a closed pit.

The Caution That Changed the Race

Alexander Rossi's day ended mechanically on Lap 20 when the No. 20 Java House Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet stopped on the frontstretch. Race Control initially displayed a local yellow — holding Palou out front and keeping the pits open — before upgrading to a full course yellow on Lap 22. Malukas, Rahal, Lundgaard and Foster all took the opportunity to pit. Palou and Kirkwood stayed out.

It was the defining strategic fork of the race. When Palou and Kirkwood pitted under the caution on Lap 25, they emerged behind Power — who had cycled to the lead — and then behind Malukas once Power pitted on Lap 30. A third caution on Lap 28, for a multi-car contact in Turn 13, compressed the field further before Malukas led the restart on Lap 32. Palou now had ground to make up that he would never fully recover.

"The yellow that really helped Dave and I — Palou had as good a chance of a heads-up as we did," Rahal acknowledged afterward. "He was ahead of us. We all took it. He didn't, which is rare. Those guys don't make mistakes."

Sting Ray Robb received a drive-through penalty during this period for receiving full service in a closed pit.

Malukas Leads, Lundgaard Stalks

Malukas ran at the front through the race's middle portion with authority, holding Lundgaard — who had begun to work his way forward — at a distance of more than a second. Palou, now down the order but armed with fresh alternate tires from his Lap 38 stop, was posting the fastest laps on the circuit and beginning to work back toward the front.

The second round of pit stops cycled through from Lap 46 to Lap 66, reshuffling the order without changing the essential dynamic at the top. Malukas led Lundgaard by 1.5 seconds at Lap 60 and 0.9 seconds at Lap 64 as the Dane closed the gap on superior tire condition. Kirkwood's afternoon took a further blow during this window when a crew error — a wheel not properly attached before the car was dropped — left the No. 27 JM Bullion/Gold.com Andretti Global Honda scrambling in the pits.

The Pass

Lundgaard made his move on Lap 68 in Turns 5 and 6, getting a run on Malukas and officially taking the lead at the scoring loop. He had 17 laps to manage what became a steadily growing advantage — 1.7 seconds at Lap 70, 3.2 seconds at Lap 75, 4.4 seconds at the white flag.

The pass through Turn 4 that preceded it will be replayed for some time. Lundgaard had tried to undercut Malukas in the pits and, when that didn't create sufficient daylight, identified a window around the outside of the No. 12 Chevrolet.

"I tried to set him up for Turn 2 and make the slingshot to be on the inside for Turn 4, but he was pretty slow through the kink of Turn 3," Lundgaard said. "I thought, okay, F it, I'm going to stay on the outside and see how it goes."

It went well. Malukas, who acknowledged he had exhausted much of his push-to-pass allocation keeping position through the pit cycles, had little answer.

"He was just so fast," Malukas said. "I was trying everything I could — sideways pretty much 50% of those laps. He was just still pulling, pulling... It was a proper move. It was very good."

Malukas added with some candor that circumstances had aligned favorably throughout his afternoon. "We were having so much luck. The start took out a lot of fast guys. Then Kirkwood goes through the grass. Lap cars got out of the way... I said, wow, the IMS gods, they're with me. They gave me all this luck."

The result nonetheless represents Malukas' career-best finish, matching a prior career best, and his fifth career podium. Running the throwback livery honoring Will Power's 2018 win at this venue, the No. 12 led more laps than any other car — a performance that will carry real momentum into the Indianapolis 500.

Rahal's Podium and Palou's Recovery

Rahal ran cleanly to third, his second podium finish of the season and his 35th career. He acknowledged losing some rear grip in the final stints but credited strong strategy calls from his team and drew particular satisfaction in having former teammate Lundgaard alongside him on the podium.

"He's taken the opportunity there and really truly excelled," Rahal said of Lundgaard. "He's a great racer. He's been a great racer since the moment he stepped in the cars."

Palou carved back from outside the top 10 to fifth, with the fastest lap of the race to his name — a 1:12.1221 on Lap 42 — but the points implications were more significant than the finishing position. His championship lead grows to 27 points over Kirkwood, who recovered from his pit lane misfortune to finish ninth, but the race demonstrated that the No. 10 machine can be beaten, and that Malukas and Lundgaard are capable of doing it.

Josef Newgarden drove a composed race from 10th on the grid to fourth in the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet. Dixon recovered from his Turn 1 involvement to finish sixth, making four stops to the three used by most competitors.

Hauger's Remarkable Drive

The most positions gained in the race belonged to Dennis Hauger, who started 24th in the No. 19 Ault Block Chain Dale Coyne Racing Honda and finished eighth — 16 positions forward. The IndyCar rookie's charge went largely unnoticed amid the front-running drama but was the most impressive single-race performance of his young IndyCar career.

Power and the No. 26

Power, the five-time IMS road course winner who entered the weekend chasing his first win for Andretti Global, began the race 25th and pieced together a measured recovery before the drive-through penalty for an improper pit exit on Lap 60 complicated matters. He ultimately finished 13th, completing all 85 laps in the No. 26 TWG AI Andretti Global Honda.

The Dedication

Arrow McLaren team principal Tony Kanaan, in his post-race remarks, dedicated the win to Alex Zanardi, who passed away last week and whose IndyCar legacy was forged at Chip Ganassi Racing during the CART era.

"Obviously for me personally, a tough week with the news of Zanardi," Kanaan said. "For sure wherever he is, he is happy for us. Dedicate that for him."

Points

Palou leads the IndyCar championship with 237 points, 27 ahead of Kirkwood (210). Malukas moves to third at 185 with his 43-point haul, while Lundgaard's 51-point swing from a win vaults him to fourth at 182 — just three behind his teammate. Newgarden is fifth at 162.

Palou Claims Third Straight IMS Pole as Rain Reshapes Sonsio Grand Prix Weekend

Rain washed out qualifying on Friday evening and cancelled Saturday's warm-up session, but it did nothing to slow Alex Palou. The reigning IndyCar champion claimed the NTT P1 Award for the Sonsio Grand Prix with a lap of 1:09.7487 in the Firestone Fast Six, his third consecutive pole on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and 14th of his IndyCar career. The front row will be completed by Pato O'Ward, who recovered from a miserable Friday to put the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet alongside the pole-winning No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Inclement weather conditions on Friday evening forced the postponement of qualifying, which had been originally scheduled for 5:35 p.m. ET, until Saturday morning. Coverage began at 10:30 a.m. ET, with the session going green at 10:45 a.m. The warm-up session was cancelled entirely, leaving teams without data on long-run tire behavior heading into this afternoon's 85-lap race.

Conditions for qualifying were 62 degrees ambient under partly cloudy skies, with a track temperature of 74.8 degrees.

Round 1, Group 1

The opening group segment produced a dramatic finish, with the final two minutes reshaping the advancing six almost entirely. With two minutes remaining, the provisional qualifiers were Alexander Rossi, Scott McLaughlin, Scott Dixon, O'Ward, Christian Rasmussen and Santino Ferrucci — but none of the first, fourth or fifth cars on that list ultimately advanced.

Kyle Kirkwood delivered the session's decisive late lap in Group 1, posting a 1:10.2178 on his seventh of eight laps to move to the top of the group and advance to Segment 2. Dixon was second at 1:10.2212, O'Ward third at 1:10.2513. The final three qualifying positions out of Group 1 were filled by Graham Rahal (1:10.6111), Josef Newgarden (1:10.6384) and Caio Collet (1:10.7725) — the rookie from the No. 4 Combitrans Amazona AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet squeezing through by just 0.0011 seconds over Rossi, who was bumped to 13th on the grid.

McLaughlin (17th), Rasmussen (19th), Rinus VeeKay (21st) and Sting Ray Robb (23rd) rounded out the Group 1 eliminations.

Round 1, Group 2

Palou's Group 2 session was the qualifying session in miniature: ominous in the middle, brilliant at the end. With two minutes remaining in the segment, the provisional top six were Nolan Siegel, Romain Grosjean, Christian Lundgaard, Will Power, Mick Schumacher and David Malukas — Palou was not among them. He then went out and set a 1:09.9125 on Lap 7 to go fastest by 0.1459 seconds and advance comfortably to Segment 2.

Malukas was second in the group at 1:10.0584, Felix Rosenqvist third at 1:10.1251, Louis Foster fourth at 1:10.2574 and Grosjean fifth at 1:10.2999 — the veteran Dale Coyne Racing driver's best qualifying result in some time. Lundgaard rounded out the six at 1:10.3267.

Eliminated from Group 2 were Marcus Ericsson (14th), Siegel (16th), Schumacher (18th), Marcus Armstrong (20th), Kyffin Simpson (22nd), Dennis Hauger (24th) and Power (25th). The five-time IMS road course winner, navigating his new surroundings in the No. 26 TWG AI Andretti Global Honda, will start from the back of the grid.

Segment 2

Palou pushed further clear in Segment 2, lowering his benchmark to 1:09.7806 on his sixth and final lap to lead the 12-car field. O'Ward moved into second at 1:10.0535, with Lundgaard third (1:10.1427), Rosenqvist fourth (1:10.1770) and Foster fifth (1:10.3105). Malukas qualified sixth to join the Firestone Fast Six at 1:10.3521, having improved from his Group 2 time.

The Segment 2 eliminations carried the session's most significant championship implication. Kirkwood, who had been fastest in Group 1 just minutes earlier, could not replicate that pace and finished ninth in Segment 2 at 1:10.4189 — a result that will see the championship runner-up start ninth this afternoon, 17 points behind a man who just claimed pole position. Rahal was seventh at 1:10.4042, Dixon eighth at 1:10.4142, Newgarden 10th at 1:10.4938 and Grosjean 11th at 1:10.4981.

Collet's qualifying run ended in Segment 2, but 12th overall represents a standout result for a rookie making his first IndyCar qualifying appearance at this circuit.

Firestone Fast Six

Palou was in a different stratosphere in the Firestone Fast Six. He set a 1:09.7487 on his fourth and final flying lap — the quickest time of the entire session — to claim pole by 0.5475 seconds over O'Ward. The margin is not entirely reflective of the true gap between the cars, as O'Ward acknowledged in the post-qualifying press conference that his Fast Six lap was compromised.

"My Q3 lap was probably the worst lap that I had in qualifying today," O'Ward said. "I kind of just had a little bit of a brain fart going into Turn 1, and then that just kind of down-spiraled from there."

O'Ward drew encouragement, however, from the turnaround after a difficult Practice 2. "We turned it around," he said. "Yesterday was a really, really tough day for the 5. I had to bounce to what [my teammates] found. I was pretty pleased to see that it correlated and it translated to a better race car."

Rosenqvist qualified third at 1:10.4548, Lundgaard fourth at 1:10.4751, Malukas fifth at 1:10.5660 and Foster sixth at 1:10.9404 to complete the front three rows.

Palou, who will start from the outside lane on the front row, was measured but confident after securing his third straight pole at this venue.

"The car that I had today was a rocketship," he said. "I think everybody at CGR and the 10 car is executing really, really good... we can win obviously. I think we have a car."

He added a note of caution heading into the afternoon, with the cancelled warm-up leaving tire behavior over long stints an open question for all teams. "We don't have warm-up, so we don't really know — are the tires going to last, is the car going to be okay on long stints or not? The good thing is everybody [is] on the same page."

Palou also noted that he and O'Ward are the only drivers in the field entering the race with just one set of new alternate tires remaining — a consequence of the new-tire investment made in qualifying.

The Sonsio Grand Prix goes green at 4:57 p.m. ET on FOX.

Palou Leads Practice 2 as Schumacher Dazzles in Group Segment

Alex Palou topped Practice 2 for the Sonsio Grand Prix to extend his grip on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, while Mick Schumacher delivered the session’s most eye-catching performance by leading the Group B segment as a rookie. Four Group A drivers — Graham Rahal, Scott Dixon, Kyffin Simpson and Christian Rasmussen — did not post times in their group segment, leaving their Practice 2 benchmarks set entirely during the all-cars portion.

All-Cars Segment

Palou was fastest in the opening 40-minute all-cars segment and never relinquished that position across the rest of the afternoon. The No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda driver posted a 1:10.4507 on Lap 13 of 16, with Kyle Kirkwood second in the No. 27 JM Bullion/Gold.com Andretti Global Honda at 1:10.5574. Louis Foster was a notable third in the all-cars running at 1:10.7182 in the No. 45 Desnuda Organic Tequila Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda — a strong early sign for a driver looking to build on his mid-pack Practice 1 showing.

Marcus Ericsson (No. 28 Allegra Andretti Global Honda, 1:10.7396) and Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 SiriusXM Meyer Shank Racing Honda, 1:10.7857) rounded out the top five in the all-cars segment, with Christian Lundgaard sixth in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet at 1:10.7703.

Race Control issued a penalty during the all-cars session against Alexander Rossi — a 10-minute loss of track time served at the end of the segment for a late arrival to driver weigh-in. Rossi, in the No. 20 Java House Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, had already set his all-cars best of 1:11.3159 on Lap 4 before the penalty took effect, and went on to run freely in Group A.

Group B

The Group B segment — run first among the two group windows with groups reversed from Practice 1 — produced the afternoon’s most unexpected headline. Schumacher, in the No. 47 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda, topped the group with a 1:10.7904 on his sixth of seven laps, a time that stood as the fastest of either group segment in the session and placed him seventh on the combined Practice 2 timesheet. The German rookie had been 18th in the all-cars segment at 1:11.2170, making the improvement in the group window all the more striking.

Rosenqvist was second in Group B at 1:11.0194, followed by Pato O’Ward in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet at 1:11.0955. Josef Newgarden, in the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet, was fourth at 1:11.3119 having completed just three laps in the segment — all three of which he ran at the start of the window.

Kirkwood, who had been second overall in the all-cars running, slipped to eighth in Group B at 1:11.5244 after just four laps — a muted showing in the group segment that nonetheless left him second in Practice 2 overall on the strength of his all-cars time. Will Power (No. 26 TWG AI Andretti Global Honda) served a drive-through penalty for a pit lane speed violation during the Group B window, ultimately finishing seventh in the group at 1:11.5177.

Group A

Lundgaard topped Group A with a 1:10.7370 on his final lap to finish fourth overall in Practice 2. Palou improved to second in Group A at 1:10.8244 on his fifth of seven laps, with Rossi third at 1:10.8529. Nolan Siegel (No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, 1:10.9636) and Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 Remax Meyer Shank Racing Honda, 1:10.9646) completed the top five in the group, separated by just 0.0010 seconds.

Rahal, Dixon, Simpson and Rasmussen did not post times in the Group A segment. Their Practice 2 classifications reflect only the times set in the all-cars portion, leaving all four toward the bottom of the session order.

Among the rookies, Dennis Hauger (No. 19 Ault Block Chain Dale Coyne Racing Honda) was sixth in Group A at 1:11.0541, while Caio Collet (No. 4 Combitrans Amazona AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet) was eighth at 1:11.2069. Schumacher did not participate in Group A having run in Group B.

Combined Standings

Across both practices, Palou continues to set the benchmark with his Practice 1 Group A time of 1:10.0904, with Rahal second at 1:10.1979 and Kirkwood third at 1:10.2146 — all three times set in Practice 1. Schumacher’s Group B effort in Practice 2 moved him to 20th on the combined sheet at 1:10.7904, an improvement of two positions on his Practice 1 standing.

Qualifying is scheduled for 5:35 p.m. ET on FS2.

Palou Paces Tight Practice 1 Field as Sonsio Grand Prix Weekend Opens

Alex Palou set the fastest time of the session on his final flying lap to top a strikingly tight Practice 1 for the Sonsio Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the top four drivers separated by less than two-tenths of a second.

The opening practice session of the weekend ran in the standard split format — 40 minutes for all 25 cars followed by 12-minute group segments — with Group A running first and Group B following. Palou, in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, posted a 1:10.0904 on the final lap of Group A to lead the combined session classification. Graham Rahal was second overall at 1:10.1979 in the No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, 0.1075 seconds back.

The Group B segment produced its own drama at the sharp end. Kyle Kirkwood in the No. 27 JM Bullion/Gold.com Andretti Global Honda lowered the Group B benchmark to 1:10.2146 on his final lap — good for third overall — while Felix Rosenqvist in the No. 60 SiriusXM Meyer Shank Racing Honda was right on his heels at 1:10.2161, a gap of just 0.0015 seconds. The pairing finished third and fourth on the combined sheet, with just 0.1257 seconds covering the top four.

All-Cars Segment

Under cool, fair-skied conditions with ambient temperatures of 57 degrees and a track surface of 62.4 degrees, Palou was also quickest in the opening 40-minute all-cars segment with a 1:10.2696 — nearly four-tenths clear of Kirkwood in second and Marcus Ericsson in the No. 28 Allegra Andretti Global Honda in third. Rahal was fourth in the opening segment at 1:10.7701, with Rosenqvist fifth.

Romain Grosjean, in the No. 18 BMax Dale Coyne Racing Honda, posted his session-best of 1:10.9060 on Lap 4 of the all-cars segment — a time that would ultimately leave him 21st on the combined sheet, suggesting the session unfolded in a direction that didn’t suit the Dale Coyne Racing entry after that early benchmark. Josef Newgarden similarly set his combined-sheet best of 1:10.9750 in the all-cars segment, also on Lap 6, with his No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet ending the session 23rd overall.

Group A

Palou’s late improvement in Group A distanced him from the field at the top of the overall sheet. Rahal’s 1:10.1979 on his seventh of eight laps was an encouraging sign for a driver who has spoken openly about finally converting his IMS road course pace into a result. David Malukas ran third in the group at 1:10.3773 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, followed by Kyffin Simpson (No. 8 Sunoco Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, 1:10.4194) and Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 Remax Meyer Shank Racing Honda, 1:10.4436).

Scott Dixon, in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, was sixth in Group A at 1:10.4734, with Alexander Rossi (No. 20 Java House Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, 1:10.4788) and Christian Lundgaard (No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, 1:10.4822) rounding out a dense mid-group pack — the three drivers covered by just 0.0088 seconds.

Group B

Kirkwood and Rosenqvist ran at the head of Group B, with both drivers improving significantly on their all-cars segment times. Ericsson was third in the group at 1:10.5285, with Louis Foster (No. 45 Desnuda Organic Tequila Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, 1:10.5454) fourth. Will Power, in the No. 26 TWG AI Andretti Global Honda, was fifth in the group at 1:10.6472 — a solid showing for the five-time winner at this venue in his new colors.

Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, 1:10.6633) and Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Sonsio Vehicle Protection Team Penske Chevrolet, 1:10.7319) completed the top seven in Group B, with Newgarden 11th and last among the non-rookies at 1:10.9944.

Rookies

The three Rookie of the Year contenders each took advantage of the additional mileage afforded by participation in both group segments. Dennis Hauger (No. 19 Ault Block Chain Dale Coyne Racing Honda) had the strongest combined showing, finishing 18th overall at 1:10.7371 while also completing the most laps of anyone in the session with 31. Caio Collet (No. 4 Combitrans Amazona AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet) was 19th overall at 1:10.7833 — a best time set on his eighth and final lap in Group A — while Mick Schumacher (No. 47 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda) was 22nd at 1:10.9649.

Practice 2 begins at 1:05 p.m. ET on FS1, followed by qualifying at 5:35 p.m. ET on FS2.